KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Mayor Shayne Gallo apologized Friday for his conduct during an enraged, profanity-laced firing of a parking enforcement officer captured in a secret recording at City Hall and made public.

"Firstly, I apologize to my family and to the residents of the City of Kingston for the language that I have used and the anger I have exhibited," Gallo said in a written statement issued Friday evening. "I am a passionate person. I am passionate about what I do and I am passionate about the people and things I care about."

Gallo was captured ranting in a recording made by then-parking enforcement officer Jeremy Blaber on April 16, the day Blaber was fired.

Blaber supplied the recording to the Freeman, which posted it on its website this week.

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"Jeremy Blaber became very close to me over the last couple of years," Gallo said in his statement. "He was close to my family. He called my mother frequently and discussed his life with her as if he was a member of our family and I cared about him and his welfare. I cared too much."

Still, Gallo added, "there are no excuses for what I did. It was a mistake and I regret it."

"Whether it be the Mayor or anyone else this behavior is unacceptable," he added. "I let my family down. I let my city down. And it will not happen again."

In his statement, however, Gallo did not apologize to Blaber directly.

Additionally, the mayor did not address other issues raised by the recording of the April 16 meeting, including his threat to have Blaber arrested if Blaber asserted a contractual or civil service right to contest his firing.

Nor did Gallo address his threat at the meeting to physically attack Blaber if Blaber acknowledged he was, as Gallo put it, "calling my mother a liar," regarding something Blaber allegedly said to Nancy Gallo.

In a voicemail message, Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright said he believed Gallo's conduct was not criminal in nature.

"I don't know too much about it, and nothing has been referred to me," Carnright said. "From what I have read in your paper, it doesn't seem that it rises to criminal behavior."

Gallo's written apology came a day after he offered similar comments during a Kiwanis Club luncheon meeting.

It also came a day after Kingston Common Council Majority Leader Thomas Hoffay issued a statement saying the mayor, a fellow Democrat, should apologize and change his demeanor or resign.

Hoffay, D-Ward 2, said that the April 16 meeting between Gallo and Blaber was not an isolated incident but another example of bad behavior by the mayor.

Gallo has been mayor since January 2012, and he and Hoffay often have been at odds in the 16 months since.

Earlier Friday, city Democratic Committee Chairman Joseph Donaldson said Gallo's behavior is "getting a little old," making it difficult for things to get done in Kingston.

"He fights with the council and everything," Donaldson said. "The city is really getting nothing done, and it's very counterproductive."

Donaldson said Hoffay has become "very frustrated, like the rest of us are."

Gallo's Friday statement also said he will maintain his commitment to partner with Kingston residents "in the city's future."

"I am very excited about that future," he wrote. "I must be accountable for what I do no less than I expect all of the City's employees to be accountable for what they do.

"I will continue to focus my efforts and energies on improving the quality of life for all our citizens and the business community."

He completed the statement by saying he looks "forward to dealing with the challenges that our city presents and I will continue to govern our City with the best interest of all of its residents in mind and look forward to providing information on these and other initiatives in the near future."